Biotech recruiter’s advice to women: You don’t have to be perfect

There’s no better time for women to advance their career in biotech, recruiter Robin Toft said. But many just aren’t asserting themselves as they could.

Toft, who runs San Diego-based life sciences recruitment agency The Toft Group, said there’s “a universal awareness” that companies with diverse boards perform better, and that mixed management teams are more effective. Companies are actively looking for women to fill top roles. But women just need to step up to the plate, she said. She shared some thoughts with STAT:

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I believe that women are generally more risk averse. I left a company of 100,000 to be employee #5 in a startup 17 years ago. We tried hard to recruit women. The best we could do was a female director of HR. Lots of women as HR executives in biotech. Took a long time to fill senior roles with women, after the company was on wheels. Maybe it was just my experience.